Jonathan is 2 months old now!

Wow, my baby boy is 2 months old! Seems like only a few days ago that I was amazed he was just 10 days old, then a month and now 2 months! He is growing so much these days and has moved almost exclusively into 3-6 month sized clothing. I had lunch on Friday with a friend from works daughter and her baby is exactly 1 month older than Jonathan. At lunch they looked like twins and JT would have been the bigger of the two! I feel slightly cheated by this as I wanted to have a smaller baby longer but would never EVER complain about that as I know I am so incredibly blessed to have my son big, healthy and strong. God has truly blessed me!

On Saturday we went to Grandma and Grandpa’s for a cookout- Grandpa grilled pork loin and mom made all of the sides. We also played a game of Settlers of Catan with my dad which we all enjoyed. I took lots of pictures of Jonathan for his monthly photo frame. Before dinner, I went out to Babies R Us and Walmart. I was gone for a few hours but most of that time was spent comparing prices on diapers. I am trying to figure out who has the cheapest diapers. I determined Target or Walmart on sale with a coupon buying the smaller packs is the way to go. I almost always have a coupon so that makes them cheaper than the big value box size. Ok, not really going to write about diapers here. While I was out I bought stuff for his Easter basket and his Easter outfit. I am so excited! I totally forgot that I got to be the Easter bunny too.

Sunday was a lazy day. I took a nap with Jonathan while Josh fixed the MythBox (our DVR). We did make it to church for the first time since Jonathan was born. The Vineyard has a Baby Theater so we could sit and watch the service without disturbing others. We will be in the baby Theater for quite awhile:-)

Today is Monday, Jonathan is still waking most nights at 3 or 3:30 but he has now slept 3 nights in his own room in his crib! It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be to transition him to his crib, we just decided to do it one night. We have a video baby monitor which is nice, I can see him anytime I want during the night. Hopefully we will both start sleeping through the night as even when he sleeps I often wake up or want to watch him. I need to get better at this, I go back to work in a little over 2 weeks;-(

Speaking of that…I am still crying every day over the thought of going back. I am not letting that ruin my remaining time with my son and I still know it’s the best thing for all of us. It will just be a very hard transition for me as these types of big changes always are.

We went to Chuck E Cheese today with Gpa, Gma, Susan, Bill Josh’s (my cousin)3 oldest kids and Josie. Jonathan and I did one thing together which drew our picture. He slept through most of it even though he was a “good kid” for 10 days and got 10 free tokens.

Emotions are Running High

So my emotions are running extremely high these days…maybe it’s the mini pills? I am starting to feel extremely anxious about returning to work. Fortunately my mom will be watching Jonathan so there are no worries there…but I know it will be very rough. I wonder what it will be like for him? Will he miss me? Will he like his bottles better? What milestones will I miss? But then I also think How much better of a mom will I be? What great opportunities I can provide him with later and how much greater will our evening and weekends be? I know it’s for the best but it doesn’t mean I won’t cry about it…and cry a lot ;-(

We’ve had a busy few weeks. I took him to work with me on the 18th to visit with friends and he wore his cool shades there (though not inside). Everyone thought he was very cute and he was very well behaved.

This was a huge blessing considering the weekend before we took him to Longhorn, the Home and Garden show and Rock Bottom Brewery and he wasn’t too happy at the restaurants. He did do well at the show though. After work, Cheryl, Ira and I went for a walk around Sharon Woods. IT was a 2 hour walk and we both fed and changed our kids on the trail. The fresh air was very refreshing and it’s nice to see we’ve both adapted to motherhood and can take care of our kids anywhere. On Saturday we went to lunch with Terri from work and Jonathan was very well behaved. I also discovered a new favorite restaurant- Mimi’s Cafe. It was wonderful! That night Grandma watched him while Josh and I went to Buca Di Beppo’s with ADX sisters and then to Alice and Wonderland. It was nice to be on a date again!

This week has flown by like all of the others! Sunday I had a spa party and had about 10 girls over for pedicures, facial steams and hand treatments. I think everyone had a good time. I don’t even remember Monday though I was probably putting my house back together after the party. On Tuesday I had PT in the morning and mom took care of Jonathan. We also went to Western Hills for lunch at Fridays and to the candle store. Wednesday I had a play date with Kendra & Darren and Cheryl & Ira. We enjoyed ourselves and our kids and hopefully we can squeeze in one more before I go back to work. I also got out in the evening to go grocery shopping. Since when did grocery shopping become such an event and treat?! Ahh I feel very old now. That is definitely a big life change.

Today is Thursday and I am enjoying a nice 2 hour break right now while Josh takes care of JT. I am finally getting around to some emails and trying to catch up with people that I’ve been late getting back to.

Home Improvement

Crystal and I have been carefully considering finishing our basement because it is a great basement for the purpose of finishing. This weekend we went to the Home and Garden show to get ideas about design and pricing for finishing the basement. We were given a quote range of $30k-40k for a basement of our size from a general contractor. Our budget is much lower than that though, so we are going to act as our own general contractor and try to do a lot of it DIY style. I proofed a not-exactly to scale design in Sketchup so we could get an idea. Crystal and I came up with this design together as both of us had things we wanted in a finished basement. Here is a picture of the basic layout as we are planning it now:

The part at the top or rear of the image will be our home theater and my office, next to that is the bathroom, then the laundry room or utility closet, and finally our mini kitchen.

Jonathan’s Birth

I asked my mom to write Jonathan’s birth story…here it is in her words. Made me cry!

It was right before 10pm on 1-26-10 that I got the call to come to the hospital. I came loaded with pillow, blanket, reading materal and snacks because I was not leaving the hospital until my grandson was born. It was such an honor to be asked to be there and to say I was excited is an understatement.

When I got there, Crystal was still being checked in by nurse Amy. It appears they knew she was coming, but none of the medications were ready. My duties were simple…I was in charge of drinks (at first) and ice chips later. Once I found out where they kept them, I think I made a hundred trips–lol!

After medications were given, the nurse said that she would give Crystal a sleeping pill and that it was “quiet–lights out” for the night. I settled into the pull-out bed and full of anticipation, managed to sleep. Sometime in the middle of the night I sensed that Crystal was up and found her crying softly. She was upset that the birth of her baby had to start with pitosin (sp). After assuring her that it really does not matter how babies get here, we both fell back to sleep.

In the morning a too-cheery aid came in with menus for the day. After that, breakfast arrived and Crystal ate a bite or two knowing that Josh would be bringing her bagels later.

The pitosin was not supposed to start until after 12 hours, but because Crystal was coming along so well, they gave it to her early. Unfortunately, it was before Josh appeared with bagels and juice and beautiful flowers. Crystal’s bagel would have to wait, but (guiltily) I ate mine.

Once the contractions started, Crystal’s facial expressions did too. We watched on the monitor to know when they were coming, peaking, etc. I was amazed that even though Crystal was obviously in discomfort, she was very quiet and not the least bit grumpy.

It is noteworthy to say that during Crystal’s labor/delivery experience Crystal had 6 nurses. Fortunately for us, the very best and Crystal’s favorite–Mel Reveal is the actual nurse that was there for the delivery. But I am getting ahead of myself.

Once the contractions started getting serious, a nurse came in and told Crystal that she could have an epidural anytime she wanted—did she want it now or wait a bit? Crystal said “yes”. When an epidural did not arrive, Josh and Crystal wondered what was taking them so long. I said I think it is because the nurse thought you wanted to wait a bit and you wanted it now (the nurse certainly should have clarified that before she left.) Josh want in serach of the nurse and the epidural.

Suddenly the room was filling with nurses/anesthesia staff and we were told, “only one of you can stay and I don’t care who.” Obviously I high-tailed it out of there as quickly as possible.

After the epidural, Crystal seemed in better shape, but you could tell that she still felt the contractions. they just weren’t as sharp. What a trooper! From my own first experience in labor, I gave Tom a really hard way to go…”don’t touch me, get back here, rub my back, don’t leave me….” Crystal was very determined, but very quiet and sweet.

Tom arrived early in the afternoon having picked up something from Josh and Crystal’s house. On his way back home, I road down in the elevator with him and Crystal’s doctor. He recognized me immediately and after introducing the Dr to Tom, the Dr said, well we should have a baby by dinnertime. I liked Dr Samol from the start. He was very personable and has a good bedside manner.

Into the afternoon, they gave Crystal a shot to help her rest and Josh and I played cards. After the nurse assured us it would still be awhile, I told Josh he should go out and get something to eat….my mistake! No sooner had he left than all hell broke loose…Crystal went from 8 to 8 1/2 to 9 quickly and as the monitor showed, JT’s heartbeat went down and didn’t readily come back up. I’ve never seen so many nurses in one room! They were trying to get Crystal in a position that JT liked and then gave her oxygen. A DR Robinson came in who would be on call since Crystal’s DR had gone home and was 20 minutes away. Dr Robinson was cracking jokes and trying to put everyone’s mind at ease while Crystal and I were scared that JT might make his arrival before Josh got back. We had made frantic calls & texts to Josh and poor guy, he came right back and still had nothing to eat!

Shortly after Josh got back and the doctor had finally arrived, it was time to start pushing and since Crystal knows I am very queasy around blood and stuff, that was my clue to leave.

Tom had arrived and we went to the waiting room to watch Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy…ok, who was really watching? I think both of us were praying. I kept going back to the nurses station to see if they knew anything and to listen outside the door in case I heard a baby cry. Several families were in the waiting room and we all were doing the same thing.

At last I went to the nurses station and asked what was going on. The nurse said curtly, the doctor will be out to see you shortly…ok, what does THAT MEAN? So I hovered near the door until I heard the sweetest sound in the world…a baby’s cry. Jonathan Thomas Maag was here!!

Tom and I got to hold him when he was just minutes old….what a blessing, wonder, indescribable. Crystal looked absolutely beautiful–not like someone who had just gone thru 9 hours of labor and Josh was beaming holding his little boy. 10 perfect little fingers and toes and so beautiful! His little head was well shaped and his color was pink…a healthy 9 lb 3 oz and 21.5 inches long.

Thank you Crystal and Josh for letting me be there to witness this great time in your lives. You both definitely “done good” and you have made a beautiful little boy. May God bless your perfect little family always!

6 weeks postpartum

Wow, my baby boys is 6 weeks old! I had my 6 week check-up yesterday and received the all clear to return my normal activities. While this is great, I now feel lazy for wearing sweat or lounge pants and t-shirts. I have to get out my pre-pregnancy clothes and maybe go shopping sometime soon for some new ones. I feel very healthy almost as healthy as I ever had. Surprisingly, I even feel energized despite my lack of sleep. I have this new found love and respect for my body after giving birth and then recovering from birth. Still have to “recuperate” the doctor said, but I do feel good.

Jonathan is growing stronger every day. He is really moving his arms and legs a lot and babbles quite a bit. He even smiles and laughs though I don’t know what he is usually laughing at. He often does that in his sleep so he must have some funny dreams:-) I go out with him on most days, even if it is just a trip to Grandma’s or out to lunch. It’s good to get out of the house!

Eventually I will post pictures to go with these updates so they are less boring, I just need to find the time.

5 weeks old today:-)

So today Jonathan is 5 weeks old. I don’t know why but that sounds much older than 4 weeks. Over the weekend he turned 1 month old and he gave us a present by sleeping for 5 hours, yeah! Josh and I had gone to a cocktail party earlier that evening at the Crousey’s. It was a fun party and a good time with friends. We are very lucky to have such willing babysitters in my parents.

Today I went to MOPS at Lifespring, I didn’t know what to expect and only went because mom needed a ride. Well, it was definitely a blessing that I was there. It was so encouraging to be around Christian women again, share my thoughts with them and what I want God to do in my life. One question we were asked was “What do you want to do in this next month to improve your relationship with God?” My answer came to me right away. I wanted to pray more with my husband. I know we both pray separately but I wanted to pray together for each other and for Jonathan.

We started that tonight by working on a bedtime routine for JT. He ate, took a bath, got new PJs put on him and then we read him a story. Once the story was complete we both prayed- for him and each other. I hope it’s a routine we can stick to. He slept for 1.5 hours and is now waking…more later.